Thursday, February 7, 2013

Can characters take on a life of their own?

Do you make a detailed
analysis or a short spotlight into each person in your stories? A kind of
profile to give you an idea of what drives each character to act the way they
do under any situation. I know some authors go as far as giving their
characters educations, complete background summaries and even do personality
tests on them.

Or like me, do you
fill in these characteristics as the story grows? I find that it's only by how
they deal with each conflict I throw at them, that their personalities start
becoming clear. And I do love conflicts!

There is one thing I always
know and that is what they look like. Probably because before I ever put any
words on file, I've lived with the characters in my head for a few weeks. So,
by the time I start writing, I can see them as clear as if I was remembering an
old friend.

It's how they react
under different sets of circumstances that’s still a mystery which gets solved
as I create each new scene.

This was a part of a blog I wrote a while ago about the
characters in my Vegas Series. Then I decided to add in a book that I hadn’t
originally planned when I first started. At that point, I realized just how
much I truly get to understand my characters.

“Vegas Shuffle” the
short bridge story I just published for the Vegas series was as much of a
surprise to me as to the readers. I knew exactly who my hero and heroine were
because they had been in the spotlight since the first book. Only problem was
that they were going to be separated for eleven months. My heroine would give
birth to a baby and the hero had no idea. They lived in different cities and a
chasm in their communication had driven a wedge between them.

Seems when the chips were down, he’d acted like a spoiled
two-year old and she couldn’t find him to slap him out of it. So the need to
introduce new characters had to be filled. And darned if I didn’t conjure up
two endearing misfits who suit the story so well that I might have to keep the
series going just so they can have their own romances.

Which brings me back to my original statement.My characters do take on a life of their own.
They grow and change from the conflicts I throw at them. And to make writing really
challenging, new ones appear and surprise the heck out of me.

Don’t you just love being a creator??

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Come see for yourself!!!

Today is the Indie Book Blowout!!!! - Many best-selling authors putting their books at the low price of $.99 for one day

4 comments:

For sure characters can take on a life of their own. It happened in my first novel with Tony, a bit player, taking on a much larger role than I planned. I was startled by the power these fictional people had as I never believed authors who talked about their characters having a life of their own.

Yes...I just love being a creator!:)Characters aren't easy to write because as you said they change along the way. Here is my latest post about characters and their relationships. If you want take a look.http://between-my-lines.blogspot.gr/2013/02/make-relationships-real.html

Hi Emandyves - it's true isn't it? I start writing about a person who I want to fit into a certain slot and darned if he/she doesn't show up with quirks I never suspected when I first created them - I love it!!!